Chapter 781: The Ultimate Cause
The name struck like a bolt of lightning, freezing Lin Qin in place and causing Yan Zhichun’s eyes to go wide beside her.
“Wen… Qiaoyun?”
Yan Zhichun and Lin Qin stared at each other for a long moment before beginning to seriously appraise the girl before them.
“You’ve got to be kidding… the same name?” Yan Zhichun said doubtfully. “You’re claiming to be Wen Qiaoyun?”
“So what if I’m Wen Qiaoyun? Do you two know me?” Wen Qiaoyun looked at the two girls in confusion. “You’re both really strange.”
Lin Qin and Yan Zhichun immediately stopped their argument, sensing that something more important had just presented itself.
Yan Zhichun pondered for a moment, feeling as though she’d found a flaw, then asked, “How long have you been here?”
“How long… I’ve been here?” Wen Qiaoyun was taken aback. “What kind of question is that? Didn’t you two come out of that strange corridor too?”
“It’s already the seventh day,” Yan Zhichun said. “You mean you just arrived?”
“The seventh day…?” Wen Qiaoyun froze. “You’ve been here for seven days? I thought we all just got here.”
Hearing this response, Yan Zhichun was momentarily speechless. She turned to look at Lin Qin and whispered, “Just who exactly did you bring here?”
“I…” Lin Qin replied, “I don’t know either, but I didn’t bring her.”
Even as she said this, doubt churned in Lin Qin’s heart.
The whole thing was too bizarre—not just Wen Qiaoyun, but Lin Qin’s own situation was equally strange.
She clearly remembered dying.
She had broken her leg during the Earth Dog’s “Year of Calamity,” and the day after that, she encountered the “Pegasus Moment.” She couldn’t escape those black threads and was killed on the spot.
But the next second after those threads pierced her forehead, she opened her eyes and found herself standing on an empty street in the twilight.
Filled with confusion, she had no choice but to take shelter in a nearby building, where she met this woman named Yan Zhichun.
Not long after, Wen Qiaoyun had also come in to spend the night. At the time, Lin Qin merely thought she was an ordinary “participant” and didn’t think much of it, too busy puzzling over why she had suddenly appeared on the street. She never imagined that this person’s appearance was even more suspicious than her own.
Lin Qin had seen Wen Qiaoyun become a “native resident” several times before, and she clearly remembered that Wen Qiaoyun had always worn this same top.
Coupled with the fact that her features were identical to that fearsome native resident, it was enough to prove that she was indeed Wen Qiaoyun herself.
But now she looked much healthier—her cheeks were no longer sunken, her eye sockets no longer hollow. She was clearly a reborn, healthy, brand-new Wen Qiaoyun.
How had she appeared?
“Could it be… that Yun Yao and the others succeeded in their scheme against Qi Xia?”
Even though Lin Qin hadn’t expressed her opinion at the time, she knew that Yun Yao and the rest were planning to use Qi Xia to resurrect Wen Qiaoyun.
Now it seemed they had succeeded… but was a Wen Qiaoyun with no memories still of any value?
If she followed that line of reasoning, then she herself must have been “created” by Qi Xia as well…
So Lin Qin’s mind was even more chaotic now. She didn’t know if she still counted as herself. If she was merely a newly created person, then why would she still retain memories from before?
“What a strange day…” Yan Zhichun interrupted Lin Qin’s thoughts. “A tiny little room, and it’s full of imposters.”
Lin Qin shook her head helplessly and chose not to argue further with Yan Zhichun. Instead, she turned to look at Wen Qiaoyun.
She didn’t know which era this Wen Qiaoyun was from, but she felt as though decades separated them—as if she were seeing a figure from history standing right before her eyes.
“Wen Qiaoyun, I’m willing to team up with you,” Lin Qin said. “Would you like to come meet my teammates?”
“Me…?” Wen Qiaoyun studied Lin Qin for a long time. “But your behavior doesn’t sound very righteous… Are all your teammates those so-called ‘Extremists’?”
“Don’t worry,” Lin Qin replied. “The team I’m taking you to isn’t as simple as ‘righteous’ or ‘evil.’ Maybe each of us has our own goals, and the complexity is beyond imagination. It’s impossible to say who’s good and who’s bad. If you’re willing, we can leave now.”
A speech that sounded so discouraging, yet Wen Qiaoyun pondered it for a long time before finally revealing a confident smile. “Interesting. I’ll go with you.”
Lin Qin nodded. It figured—this was Wen Qiaoyun, after all. Perhaps only a person with such a mindset could reach the top in this place.
But then again… did she still have enough time to climb up from the bottom?
That answer would probably have to be left to her.
Ignoring Yan Zhichun, the two were about to walk out together when another girl entered through the door.
Lin Qin frowned the moment she saw her, but the newcomer smiled and waved at her.
It was none other than Jiang Ruoxue, whom Lin Qin had met once before.
“Yo!” Jiang Ruoxue waved. “You… where did I see you before… Earth Dog’s ‘Courier,’ right?”
Lin Qin nodded.
“What a coincidence.” Jiang Ruoxue smiled warmly, then shifted her gaze to Wen Qiaoyun.
She stared at Wen Qiaoyun for a long time, then said calmly, “Hello.”
Wen Qiaoyun nodded in return. “Hello.”
Lin Qin remembered that Jiang Ruoxue was neither friend nor foe, and her stance was peculiar. Afraid that delays might lead to complications, Lin Qin turned to Wen Qiaoyun and said, “Let’s go.”
Wen Qiaoyun agreed and followed Lin Qin out of the building.
Only Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue remained in the room.
Yan Zhichun sighed. “How did you find me?”
Jiang Ruoxue walked slowly over to Yan Zhichun and smiled. “Because of cause and effect. I knew that if I set out, I would find you.”
Yan Zhichun nodded, then looked up and said, “Today has been really strange. Those two women just now were weirder than the other.”
“Oh?” Jiang Ruoxue covered her mouth with a smile. “Is there something here that even you find strange?”
Yan Zhichun gave a brief account of what had just happened—one claiming to be an “Extremist” who had wandered for seven years, the other a king from history.
Two figures, each capable of dominating their own domain, had somehow ended up spending the night in the same building.
“That person really is Wen Qiaoyun,” Jiang Ruoxue said.
“What?” Yan Zhichun was startled. “I thought the legendary Wen Qiaoyun had already vanished?”
“She had,” Jiang Ruoxue nodded. “Her appearance is a massive ‘effect,’ which means there must be an ultimate ‘cause.’ Don’t you want to follow them and see?”